July 13, 2021 3:10 a.m. 

On Monday, Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Koteck released a statement on the expansion of public entry at the Oregon State Capitol.

It said, “The last year has been extremely hard on our state. Oregonians have suffered devastating wildfires, an ice storm, a historic heatwave, and extreme drought. Through it all we have battled a global pandemic that has dramatically changed our daily lives”.

Courtney and Kotek said that last March they consulted with infectious disease doctors and public health officials about what changes were needed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the Capitol. In the end they said they made “…the very difficult decision to limit Capitol entry to legislators, essential staff and members of the press.

The statement said, “Over 70 percent of Oregonians 18 and older are now vaccinated against COVID-19 and community spread has reduced considerably. We are extremely grateful to Oregonians for stepping up to help beat his pandemic. With new guidance from the Oregon Health Authority and the lifting of county risk levels, we are excited to expand entry to the Capitol today to include members of the public”.

The release said due to ongoing projects, certain areas in the Capitol will continue to be limited to construction personnel only until December 2021. The State Street entrances and front steps will also be temporarily closed for construction. Visitors can use the North ADA entrances to enter the building.

The release said the Oregon State Capitol Visitor Services staff will be bringing back many of the services they provide for visitors over the next few weeks:

*The Capitol Store will be open from 10:00 a.m.to 3:00 pm for the next few weeks.

*Capitol tours are self- guided for this week

*Guided tours will be offered daily at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. beginning July 19th. Starting in mid-August, guided tours will be expanded to four tours per day.

*Tower tours will resume in 2022.